Secateurs are used not only for non-professional gardening but also professionally, as for harvesting of grapes from vines, for pruning of plants in vineyards, large orchards or similar. Lately, the increasing use for such purposes has led to stringent requirements for secateurs which are frequently used under various circumstances. A gardener or operator in a vineyard or orchard will daily be faced with different tasks and situations. Sometimes the trees, vines, bushes or similar which are to be harvested or pruned will allow an operator to walk along the ground and have access to uncomplicated grape clusters or branch systems. In other cases the operator may be forced to ascend to high or irregularly grown branch systems, perhaps with aid of a ladder, if individual branches are less accessible. Especially during grape harvesting, both hands may be employed for freeing the grape clusters to be picked.
The accessability of the secateur is of great importance for the practical work situation of the operator, especially the possibility to carry and hold the secateur with means other than the hands, and still be able to grip it when needed for the job. One difficulty is that the operator may have to use many more tools during the work, such as saws, toppers, knives or means for bark wound healing. When climbing a tree or a ladder, it may be vital to have both hands free, and not occupied by holding and carrying a secateur which is not used right then. Shortly afterward, the saw must be brought out and held in the hand for a cutting task. This must also be done with little effort and limited motion, since the operator might have a complicated body stance among tree branches, where the space available for arm displacements is limited.
Previously known secateur sheaths have in general been shaped as pockets into which the knife blades of the secateur are inserted, where the handles are located in an accessible position axially extending from the pocket. A common problem for all previously known secateur sheaths is the difficulty of inserting the blades in the sheath, at least in complicated work positions. The retaining force on the secateur is also doubtful, especially as the pocket may be expanded after some period of use of the sheath. Another problem with previously known sheaths is their relatively high production cost. Still another disadvantage is that they usually fit only one secateur model, since the shape of the pocket is strictly adapted to the shape of the blades of the secateur.